The Making of a University Hub for Basic Cultural Anthropological Research Related to Cultural and Biodiversity Conservation

任何群体都不能幸免于生态危机，但土著、农村和少数族裔社区往往是遭受最严重影响的群体。该项目通过两种方式解决危机期间的不平等问题：1)侧重于“其他人”，特别是目前正面临重大环境问题的高喜马拉雅土著社区；2)纳入将开展研究、外联活动和讲习班的本科生和研究生。从这个意义上说，该项目进一步发展了社区和国际高等教育机构之间的长期协同效应，包括研究文化人类学和生物多样性保护的利益攸关方。研究涉及包括行为科学和社会科学在内的各种科学领域。它研究了传统的生态知识假说(TEK)，将重点放在四个相互关联但又相互独立的目标上，以确定(1)某种形式的市场一体化是否可以在不侵蚀当地生态知识的情况下发展；(2)宗教信仰是否与自然环境的保护有关；(3)个人的社会文化和人口特征对TEK的影响程度；以及(4)知识共享的选择是否基于社会线索。这项研究涉及几个高度创新的元素，例如是对文化规范、宇宙学和信念的第一次深入检查，将尖端统计建模和社会网络研究与更定性的传统文化方法相结合，以探索学习过程如何随着时间的推移而变化。该项目由HBCU-卓越研究计划共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

No group is immune to ecological crises but indigenous, rural, and minority communities are often the ones that suffer most. The project addresses inequities during crises in two ways: 1) by focusing on 'other others', particularly on indigenous communities of the higher Himalayas, that are now confronting major environmental problems; and 2) by including undergraduate and graduate students who will conduct research, outreach activities, and workshops. In this sense, the project further develops long-term synergies between communities and international institutions of higher learning, including stakeholders that study cultural anthropological and biodiversity conservation.The research triangulates a variety of scientific fields including the behavioral and social sciences. It studies the Traditional Ecological Knowledge hypothesis (TEK) by focusing on four interconnected yet separate objectives to determine (1) whether some forms of market incorporation could develop without eroding local ecological knowledge; (2) whether religious beliefs are associated with the conservation of the physical environment; (3) the extent to which individual socio-cultural and demographic traits affect TEK; and finally (4) whether the selection of knowledge sharing is based on social cues. The study involves several highly innovative elements, such as being one of the first in-depth examinations of cultural norms, cosmology, and beliefs to integrate cutting-edge statistical modeling and social network studies with more qualitative, traditional cultural approaches to explore how the learning process change over time.The project is funded with co-funding support from the HBCU-Excellence in Research Program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.